Tag: salad

I have an insatiable sweet tooth, and while I should technically feel bad about the entire loaf of Blueberry Streusel Bread I ate over the weekend, I’m taking comfort in the fact that my other latest obsession is this healthy salad recipe. I absolutely love salads that incorporate something cooked, especially since the addition of something warm makes it easier to enjoy a fresh salad in cold weather. This Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Spinach and Feta from Recipe Tin Eats ticks all the boxes. It’s seasonal, it’s sweet, it’s savory, it’s comfort food, and best of all it’s healthy.

I’ve made this recipe with winter squash, but roasted pumpkin is always the clear winner. When roasted just right, the pumpkin is sweet and juicy without being too mushy (as squash can sometimes be). The feta adds a zing of salty and creamy, while the pine nuts add a nutty crunch. This is the perfect salad recipe for those colder Autumn and Winter days, and makes a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu. Delicious! You must try this!!!

Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Spinach and Feta

ingredients

for the roasted pumpkin

1½ lbs pumpkin, peeled and cubed

1½ tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

for the dressing

2½ tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp honey

salt and pepper

for the salad

5 oz (about 4 handfuls) baby spinach

2 oz feta, crumbled

¼ c pine nuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 430°F.

Toss pumpkin with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Spread on baking tray, bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven, flip, then bake for a further 7 – 10 minutes until golden but not mushy.

Remove from oven and immediately loosen pumpkin with a spatula (pumpkin tends to stick to the backing sheet as it cools).

In a small mason jar, combine salad dressing ingredients and shake well.

If using pine nuts, toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat until light golden and they smell nutty.

Remove them from the skillet as soon as they’re ready and set aside.

Place spinach in a bowl, drizzle with a bit of the dressing then toss.

Add pumpkin, just a bit of feta and pine nuts, then gently toss just to disperse the feta.

Transfer to serving plate.

Sprinkle over remaining feta and pine nuts.

Just before serving, drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve and enjoy!

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Sorry for the silence over the last several days. I’ve really had a tough couple of weeks. I mean, seriously you guys, Murphy’s law in full effect. I haven’t been sleeping well because a particularly bold family of raccoons decided to make my roof their home. I called wildlife control and they set up traps that work great, only problem is they’ve been catching my neighbors’ cats. If that wasn’t enough, I hammered all hell out of my thumb instead of my intended target, a nail. My subsequent crying made my allergy symptoms that much more unbearable, ushering in one of the worst sinus/tension headaches I’ve ever had. Meh, I could go on, but you get the idea.

Anyway, I’ve been making the best of things around here. Since I’m not sleeping very much, I have a ton of time to clean up and organize my house. I might fill you in on more of those deets in a later post. But first, I thought I should share a little bit about my current food situation. Usually when things are not going the way I had planned, I turn to comfort food. Mostly sweets. Lots and lots of sweets. Fortunately for me, this year’s farm share and farmer’s markets are having none of that sweet tooth nonsense. Everywhere I turn there are some pretty amazing looking salad greens.

I’m not too discerning when it comes to salad greens. I do notice that some greens are more bitter than others, but honestly salad dressing is what makes or breaks a salad. If the dressing is delicious the salad is transcendent. Long story short, my current obsession is homemade salad dressing.

A couple of things to note: 1. Since I’ve been making my salad dressing, the half used bottles of store bought salad dressing that crowded my refrigerator doors have become nonexistent. Making your own salad dressing means that you can quickly make just enough, and you will never have to smell the old bottles of dressing in your fridge all the while praying that it’s actually still edible. 2. Homemade salad dressing is so easy to make and so insanely easy to customize that you’ll never look back. I promise. You must try this!

Here are some simple infographics that will make all of your salad dressing dreams come true!